Aaron Stokes was left impressed by Joelinton in Newcastle United’s recent pre-season friendly win, which he spoke about on the Everything is Black and White podcast.
At the back end of last week, Newcastle took on National League side Gateshead at the club’s training ground, which saw the Magpies pick up a very comfortable 5-1 victory before heading out to Austria for further training and friendlies.
Newcastle posted the highlights to their YouTube channel last week, which showed a lot of last season’s top performers back in action such as Joelinton, Allan Saint-Maximin and Callum Wilson – but it was the former who caught the eye of Stokes.
The journalist was left in awe by how impressive Joelinton looked so early into pre-season.
He said: “Just looking at him, he looks like he’s had an amazing summer, he looks in fantastic shape. As we say, it is Gateshead, you’ve got to take it with a pinch of salt, but the way he was just striding through that midfield…
Should Joelinton start for Newcastle?
Yes!
No!
“Obviously, like you say, a couple of weeks ago I was debating over his long-term future in midfield, but if he plays anywhere near where he was playing last season, then it’s a no-brainer and I just hope he can keep that up – but he looks like he’s been putting the work in.”
TIF Thoughts on Joelinton’s future…
Joelinton’s journey to redemption was one of the best and wholesome stories of the Premier League season last time out, going from a misfiring striker that cost £40m to a dominant and combative midfielder that finished the season having won the most tackles within the Newcastle squad.
The Brazilian formed an impressive midfield trio alongside Jonjo Shelvey and fellow countryman Bruno Guimaraes, and while some such as Stokes may have questioned Joelinton’s future given he’s not a natural midfielder, we feel Eddie Howe simply cannot ignore or drop him if he picks up his form from last campaign.